Collapsible display device



Sept. 1, 1959 J. J. JANECKA, JR 2,902,239

COLLAPSIBLE DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Jan. 1a, 1956 United States PatentCOLLAPSIBLE DISPLAY DEVICE Joseph J. Janecka, Jr., Riverside, 11].

Application January 13, 1956, Serial No. 558,985

Claims. (Cl. 248-197) This invention relates to devices for displayingarticles at exhibitions or the like and is more particularly concernedwith improvements in an upright, collapsible easel type rack having oneor more generally rectangular frames thereon which are adapted toreceive postage stamps or like articles for display or exhibitionpurposes.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a collapsible rack inthe form of an easel and one or more cooperating generally rectangularframes thereon which have provision for receiving display material suchas found at stamp shows and other exhibitions of a similar character.

It is a more specific object to provide an easel type rack or supportingframe formed of light metal members which is adapted to be set up and toreceive on one side thereof one or more generally rectangular displayframes such as commonly employed for exhibiting stamps, paintings andother display material of a like character.

It is another object of the invention to provide a collapsible easeltype display rack or frame of the character described which comprisesrelatively light metal frame members adapted to be detachably connectedwhen the rack is in set-up condition and an elongate tray-like containeror housing to receive the frame members when in knocked-down condition,which housing is adapted to form a rigid top brace member on the rackwhen the same is erected for use.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device forexhibiting or displaying postage stamps or similar material which isadapted to be arranged in a generally rectangular frame and supported onan upright stand wherein the frame comprises side and end members formedof metal plate which is bent to provide a generally channel shaped crosssection with a front wall, a side wall extending normal thereto from theouter edge thereof and terminating in a relatively narrow inturnedflange, the latter being in a plane generally parallel with the frontwall, the front wall having at its inner edge a relatively narrow flangemember extending normal thereto and spaced inwardly thereof in thedirection of the side wall, the flange member being connected to thefront wall by a reversely bent portion whereby to form a generallyrectangular opening having a recess around the periphery thereof forreceiving a pane of glass or other transparent covering for the displaymaterial.

It is another object of the invention to provide a display framecomprising connected side and end forming members and formed of metalplate which is bent to provide a front wall, a side wall and an innerreversely bent portion terminating in a flange which is normal to thefront wall and spaced inwardly of the inner edge thereof, and in whichthe corner joints are formed by telescoped and rigidly joined portionsof adjoining ends of the side and end forming-members.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom a consideration of the dis- Patented Sept. 1, 1959 play devicewhich is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings,wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a display rack and frame havingincorporated therein the principal features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. l to an enlarged scaleand with portions broken away;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section, showing atop frame joint;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of oneof the bottom frame joints;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective View to an enlarged scale of acorner section of the rectangular display frame; and

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the corner portions of theframe members which are shown in Fig. 5 illustrating the manner ofassembling the same to form the corner joint.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a supporting device oreasel-like rack structure 10 which is designed to support thereon threegenerally rectangular picture frame type display members 11 forexhibiting postage stamps or similar material which is conventionallymounted on album pages or other sheet material, only one of the framedisplay members being shown in position on the easel.

In the illustrated form of the invention, the supporting rack or easel10, when in set-up upright condition as shown in Fig. 1, comprises twolongitudinally spaced collapsible A frames 12, which may be identical,and

which when set up are connected by a top brace forming member 13. Thebrace forming member 13 is of inverted truncated triangular or V-shapedcross section with its widest face open and in downwardly facingrelation. It may be conveniently formed of bent metal plate, and isshaped to provide a container or housing of substantial depth and ofsufficient size to receive the other members of the rack 10 when thelatter is in collapsed and knocked-down condition. The member 13 hasoppositely disposed, downwardly and outwardly tapered side walls 14which are provided with elongate apertures or slots 15 for receivingclamping bolts 16 and 17 on the upper ends of the end A frames 12.

Each of the end frames 12 comprises a pair of upright leg members 18 and19 which are connected at the top by a relatively short connecting baror plate member 20 which is welded or otherwise secured to the front leg18 and pivotally connected at 21 to the back leg 19. At a pointintermediate the top and bottom ends of the legs 18 and 19 a double linkbrace bar 22 is provided which is pivotally connected at opposite endsat 23 and 24 to the respective legs 18 and 19, the two links beingpivotally connected to themselves at 25 with a suitable catch or stopmember 26 on the one link for engaging the other to hold the bar in itsextended position as shown in Fig. 1. By collapsing the brace bar 22 andpivoting the back leg 19 about the pivot 21 the two legs 18 and 19 maybe brought into collapsed parallel relation so that they may bepositioned within the housing 13. The legs 18 and 19 of the end frames12 are connected to the housing 13 by means of the bolts 16 and 17 whichextend through the slots 15 in the housing walls 14. The bolts 16 and 17are arranged below the upper ends of the legs 18 and 19 and are providedwith suitable thumb nuts for detachably securing the same in the slots15, the latter permitting vertical movement or adjustment of the housing13 relative to the frame 12 so that the housing fits snugly over the topportions of the legs. Preferably, one of the bolts 17 is made removableso that the frame 12 may be collapsed with the other leg remainingpivotally attached to the housing 13 and the entire frame may be pivotedabout the re- 3 maining bolt into the housing when it is collapsed. Theleg 18 is slotted at 27 'to permit it to slide, in the direction of itslength, on the bolt 16 so that it may be adjusted relative to the member'13 to permit it to fit into the same when the frame is collapsed.

The end frames 12 are connected by a back brace bar 28 Which isdetachably secured at its ends by separable bolts 29 to the rear legs 19of the two frames. The frames 12 are braced in the front by an X braceconsisting of two bar members 30 pivotally connected at their center andeach connected at the opposite ends thereof to the bolts 16 and 31 inthe front legs 18 of the frames 12. The back brace bar 2,8 and the Xbrace 30 may be removed and the latter collapsed when the rack isknocked down for storage. The end frames 12 support a bottom channelmember 32 which is positioned in upwardly opening or upwardly facingrelation and secured to the front leg members 18 by a pair of anglebrackets 33 which are rigidly secured by welding or the like to the webof the channel member 32 and which are apertured to receive the bolts31. A cooperating top angle bar 34 is supported on the front wall 14 ofthe top frame member 13. Angle brackets 35 are welded or otherwisesecured to the top leg of the bar 34 and suitably apertured to receivethe bolts 16. The angle bar 34 faces downwardly and the distance betweenthe bottoms of the guideways formed by the bottom and top bars 32 and 34is slightly more than the depth of the frames 11 so that the latter maybe inserted at the ends of the bars and slid into the desired positionon the rack 10.

The display frames 11 are especially designed to cooperate with easel10. Each of the frames 11 is generally rectangular in shape and has sideand end frame members 40 and 41 which are formed from bent sheet metalto provide a generally rectangular central opening 42 for receiving apane of glass 43, and a sheet or board 44 supporting the material whichis to be displayed through the glass 43. The side frames 40 are formedfrom a single piece or strip of sheet material which is bent to providea front wall 45 and outer peripheral side wall 46 which terminates in aninturned flange 47 which is in a plane parallel with the plane of thefront wall 45. At its inner edge the front wall 45 has a reversely bentportion 48 which terminates in an upstanding relatively narrow flange49, the latter being spaced a substantial distance from the outer wall46 and being generally parallel therewith. The depth or height of theflange 49 is substantially less than the distance between the flange 47and the front wall 45. The end frame members 41 are also formed from asingle strip of sheet material which is bent to provide the same crosssectional form as the side frame members 40 except at the ends thereof.Portions of each end thereof are shaped to telescope within the end ofthe adjoining side wall sections 40 to form the corner joint. The endportion of the plate member 41 is cut on the line 50 to provide anextension 51 on the front wall forming portion 52 and the terminal endportions of the strip from which the member is formed are cut and foldedto provide a short side wall section 53 and an inturned flange 54 whichcorresponds with the side wall sections 46 and the inturned flange 47 ofthe side frame member 40. The width of the extension 51 is slightly lessthan the width of the adjoining portion of the front wall 45 of the sidemember 40 and the joint forming portion of member 41 is adapted to betelescoped within the end portion of the side member 40 as indicated inFigs. and 6 with the two frame members being secured against separationby spot welding as indicated at 55. The members may, of course, besecured in any other manner to provide a rigid frame having the glassreceiving recess 56 extending around the opening 42 to accommodate theglass 43 and a gasket 57 of rubber or similar cushioning material. Theboard 44 provides surface space for mounting thereon the displaymaterial which is to be placed beneath the glass 43 and a backing board58 is inserted which bridges the sides of the rubber gasket 57 and whichis held in position by one or more clamp bars 59. The latter may bechannel shaped as shown and of sufiicient length to extend at the endsbeneath the opposed flanges 47 of the side frame members 40, with thebars 59 being of suflicient thickness or depth to bear against thebacking board 58 and hold the entire assembly in position by friction.

The frames 11 are assembled and stored or shipped separately from theeasels or racks 10. The easels 10 are readily collapsed by removing thebrace bars 28, 30 and the frame support'ng bars 32 and 34. The end Aframes may be collapsed and folded into the casing 13 with the crossframes and supporting bars placed therein so that the casing 13functions as a container for the entire rack structure for storage orshipment.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with the display ofmaterial, such as postage stamps, the frames and easel may be adaptedfor displaying documents, paintings, maps or any material of a similarnature which may be secured or mounted in the frames. Also theparticular materials used in the construction of the frames and easelmay vary and it is contemplated that materials other than thosespecifically referred to which have the required strength and rigiditymay be employed.

I claim:

1. An upright rack for supporting generally rectangular display frames,said rack comprising an elongate open tray-like housing of bent platematerial having a bottom member and side walls inclined thereto to forman inverted truncated V-shaped cross section, end frame members eachcomprising a pair of leg members and means connecting adjacent upperends of said leg members for relative pivotal movement, said leg membershaving a collapsible brace intermediate their ends, one leg member ofeach end frame having a clamp bolt adjacent its upper end and one sidewall of said housing having longtudinally spaced elongate slotsextending transversely thereof to receive the bolts on said leg members,cross brace members extending between corresponding legs of said endframe members and top and bottom bars mounted in parallel spacedrelation on said housing and said end frame members, which bars areprovided with guideway formations for receiving the top and bottom edgesof said display frames.

2. An upright rack for supporting generally rectangular display frames,said rack comprising a top member in the form of an elongate opentray-like housing having an inverted truncated generally V-shaped crosssection, end frames each comprising a pair of leg members with meanspivotally connecting adjacent upper ends and a collapsible braceintermediate the ends thereof, said leg members each having a separableclamp bolt adjacent its upper end and the side walls of said housinghaving oppositely disposed apertures adjacent the ends thereof toreceive said bolts, with the apertures in one wall of said housing beingelongate transversely extending slots, separable cross brace membersextending between corresponding leg members of said end frames in spacedrelation to said housing, and one of the leg members on each of said endframes having an axially extending slot for receiving the upper clampbolt in sliding relation therein whereby when said end frames arecollapsed they may be folded into said top housing and when said endframes are erected said housing will fit snugly over the upper endsthereof.

3. An upright rack for supporting one or more generally rectangulardisplay frames, said rack comprising an elongate open tray-like topmember having an inverted truncated V-shaped cross section, collapsibleend A frames each comprising a pair of leg members pivotally connectedadjacent their upper ends and having a collapsible brace spacedtherefrom, said leg members being of alength which is less than thelength of said top member, said leg members having removable boltsadjacent their upper ends and the side walls of said top tray memberhaving oppositely disposed elongate transversely extending slotsadjacent the ends thereof to receive said bolts, cross brace membersseparably connected in parallel spaced relation between correspondinglegs of said end frame members, the bottom one of said cross bracemembers being formed to provide a bottom channel for receiving saidrectangular display frames and the top one of said brace members beingangular and mounted on said housing to provide a top channel forreceiving said display frames.

4. An upright rack for supporting generally rectangular display frames,said rack comprising an elongate open tray-like housing forming a topmember and collapsible end frames connected by separable cross bracing,said housing member being formed of plate material and having aninverted truncated V-shaped cross section, said end frames being ofinverted truncated V-shape in erected condition and each comprising apair of leg members pivotally connected by a relative short link memberadjacent the upper ends thereof, said pair of leg members beingconnected by a collapsible brace intermediate their ends, one of the legmembers of said pair thereof being pivoted to the inside of an inclinedside wall of said housing member, the other of the leg members of saidpair having a separable clamp bolt adjacent the upper end, said housinghaving a transversely extending slot in the side wall adjacent the endthereof to receive the clamp bolt, and top and bottom channel formingbars removably mounted on said housing and extending between said endframes, said channel forming bars providing opposed guideway formingrecesses for receiving the top and bottom edges of said display frames.

5. An upright rack for supporting generally rectangular display frames,said rack comprising a top member in the form of an elongate opentray-like housing having an inverted truncated generally V-shaped crosssection, end frames at opposite ends of said housing each comprising apair of leg members of lesser length than said housing, said leg membersbeing pivotally connected by a link member adjacent the upper ends so asto present an upper end of the same shape and dimensions as the crosssectional shape and dimensions of said housing and having a collapsibleconnecting brace spaced below said upper ends, one of said leg membersof each end frame having a separable clamp bolt adjacent the upper endand the side walls of said housing having oppositely disposed elongateslots adjacent the ends thereof to slidingly receive the bolts in theleg members of the end frames, separable and collapsible cross bracemembers extending between corresponding leg members of said end framesin the lengthwise direction of said housing, one of the leg members oneach of said end frames having an axially extending slot for receivingthe upper clamp bolt in sliding relation therein whereby said end framesare adapted to be collapsed and folded into said top housing, saidhousing being adapted to telescope over the upper ends of said endframes when the latter are erected so as to form a relatively rigid topbrace between said end frames, a lower supporting bar separablyconnected between corersponding legs of said end frames and having anupwardly opening recess for receiving the lower edge of a display frame,and an upper retaining bar separably connected between said and framesand providing a downwardly opening axially extending recess forconfining the top portion of a frame positioned in the recess in saidlower supporting bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS574,486 Jones Jan. 5, 1897 613,323 Scott Nov. 1, 1898 933,650 KramerSept. 7, 1909 945,626 Smith Jan. 4, 1910 1,435,738 Reiman Nov. 14, 19221,751,614 Born Mar. 25, 1930 1,823,871 Beasley Sept. 22, 1931 2,002,128Reidenbaugh May 21, 1935 2,480,702 Bradford Aug. 30, 1949 2,593,195Rosenberg et al Apr. 15, 1952 2,749,636 Viglietta June 12, 1956

